Kris Versteeg, Joakim Nordstrom return to United Center as the enemy

At the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup rally last season, Kris Versteeg and Joakim Nordstrom added some musical stylings — and maybe a little unintentional comedy — to the proceedings by performing a duet that was supposed to inspire the crowd to dance.

A few months later both were gone after the Hawks traded them to the Hurricanes, though the trade had nothing to do with the quality of their vocals.

It had everything to do with the Hawks' salary-cap crunch.

Versteeg and Nordstrom were back at the United Center on Sunday and helped the Hurricanes defeat the Hawks 2-1.

The September trade, which amounted to a salary dump, was the second time the Hawks had dealt Versteeg after winning the Stanley Cup. The Hawks traded him to the Panthers after their 2010 Cup run only to get him back in 2013.

All the action from the United Center.

"To come back and see a lot of my really good and close friends today was good, and to beat them feels better ... " Versteeg said. "It always feels good to play against an old team and beat them. I haven't had that much success against them with other teams."

Versteeg said the trade did not come as a total surprise, but it still was tough when he got the call from general manager Stan Bowman.

"I knew it would be a possibility," Versteeg said. "I don't think you can really ever be totally ready for those situations."

For Nordstrom, the trade represented a chance to take on a larger role and more minutes on a new team.

Nordstrom was skating on the Hurricanes' second line and was coming off his best game of the season Saturday, when he had a goal and an assist in a victroy over the Devils. Nordstrom had two goals and five assists in 24 games before Sunday.

"Obviously your head starts spinning a little bit," Nordstrom said. "When (the trade) happened, of course I was surprised. But I'm happy it happened because I really like my opportunity in Carolina."

Despite the trade, both Nordstrom and Versteeg said they hold fond memories of their time in Chicago.

"Chicago has really always been a second home to me," Versteeg said. "I have a lot of great friends here even away from the game. A lot of great people I've met. … I'm (happy) about everything I was a part of."

A version of this article appeared in print on December 28, 2015, in the Sports section of the Chicago Tribune with the headline "Ex-Hawks won Cup but lost to salary cap" —
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